Why would the Senate reject something as evident as the concept that we shouldn’t let maniacs, criminals, or those who have been named in orders of protection buy guns? Why would they vote to maintain the artificial distinction between guns sold in stores and those sold in shows when they are equally likely to kill or maim?

Is President Obama correct when he blames lies from the National Rifle Association (NRA) for the rejection? No. The president has only himself to blame.

The fact is that while the overwhelming majority of the public approves of the narrow terms of the bill — to expand background checks to gun shows — the president has so poisoned the atmosphere in our nation’s politics that we don’t trust the government and we don’t trust the president.

The president was amazed that people did not read the plain language in the bill which bans using the background check information to amass a registry of gun owners. But he’s wrong. They read it. They just didn’t believe it.

Like they didn’t believe that the requirement that only fiscal bills could pass with a bare majority would stop Obama from passing the health care bill with only a majority.

Like they didn’t believe that the ban on recess appointments when Congress was not in recess would stop Obama from naming National Labor Relations Board members without Senate confirmation while the Senate was not in recess.

Like they didn’t believe that the president wouldn’t allocate to himself the executive authority to pass the DREAM Act after it was rejected by Congress.

Like they didn’t believe that the feds would try to name ministers in churches, and so forth and so on.

You can’t abuse the public’s trust as much as this president has and then cry when they don’t trust you.